


Truth No. 2

by SassyInkPen



Category: due South
Genre: First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-18
Updated: 2009-11-18
Packaged: 2017-10-03 07:50:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SassyInkPen/pseuds/SassyInkPen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My Prompt:  <i>{...now I looked at my reflection in the window walking past and I saw a stranger.  Just so scared all the time, makes me one more reason why the world is so dangerous...}</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Truth No. 2

_{...now I looked at my reflection in the window walking past and I saw a stranger. Just so scared all the time, makes me one more reason why the world is so dangerous...}_

 

Ray stabbed at the car radio buttons muttering, "...stupid hillbilly music...."

"Who was that, Ray?" Fraser asked, furrowing his brow. "Not your usual listening material."

"Oh, just..." Ray shook his head and rolled his eyes as he hung a left turn. "Francesca's been using the Riv for a couple of days while she gets her car fixed."

"That's very generous of you," Fraser told him with a smile.

"Generous, hell. That bitch is blackmailing me, and you better believe that giving up the Riv is a lot better than what I'd catch from Ma." Ray shuddered.

"What is the natur-"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Very good."

They pulled up behind an old warehouse, leaving the Riv in the shadows of the alley, and skulked along the side of the building, scoping out the area. The muted crackle of voices from the radio in Ray's coat pocket told them that the other cops on the sting were doing the same.

Somebody had been running around killing drug dealers, so that at first they thought they had a vigilante on their hands. Vigilante killings were bad, but so were drug dealers and Vecchio didn't exactly tax himself working the case. But then junkies and kids started turning up dead, and there were bad drugs on the streets. Shit laced with poison and cheap ingredients. Their "vigilante" wasn't getting rid of the dealers...he'd been replacing them.

"All right," Ray said, nudging Fraser against the wall and leaning close to whisper in his ear. "When this goes down, it's gonna be fast, and it's gonna be messy. Are you sure you don't want my other gun?"

"I can't, it's against-"

"I know, I know, I know," Ray huffed. "Just stay back out of the way, will ya?"

"Yes, Ray."

It came too quick and too easy. Ray stopped and turned to look at him. "You're not gonna do any such thing, are you?"

"No, Ray."

Ray sighed heavily. "Well then, be careful, ok?"

Fraser grinned faintly. "I will."

Ray nodded and picked up his radio. "All right, let's do this," he barked.

 

*****

 

The bust went down fast, as Ray predicted, but it was far messier than he'd imagined. The warehouse was full of shit and set up something like a maze, so that guys were everywhere. All of them were shooting and for one wild second, Ray thought of himself in a giant pinball machine. Then a bullet whizzed past his ear and he turned his attention back to the task at hand. Across the room, Fraser was getting the upper hand in a fight with two guys in rock band t-shirts and camo pants.

Just when Ray thought the dust might be starting to settle, he heard the click of safety behind his left ear. A chill raced through him and he turned slowly, keeping his hands still, but not dropping his gun. Directly behind him stood a guy about his height, with stringy blond hair, leather pants and a pistol aimed directly at his chest.

For a moment, Ray was stunned by an unexplainable sense of something odd, and then he realized he knew the guy. "Danny Speers," he said, finding the name.

"Long time, no see, Ray," the guy grinned. "Too bad it had to be while you and your pals were tearin' apart my shop."

"_Your_ shop?" Ray tried to wrap his mind around that. Their would-be vigilante turned crime lord was a guy that Ray had gone to grade school with. They lived eight blocks apart and walked home together sometimes. "_You_ did all this? The murders, the bad drugs? That was all you?"

Danny shrugged with a self-deprecating smile. "I can't really take _all_ the credit, I've had a lot of help along the way. But I guess that you could say I was the brains behind the scheme."

"I thought you were gonna grow up to be a race car driver," Ray said.

"Plans change," snapped Danny, all pretense of humor dropped now. "Kind of like yours for the night."

Ray saw the gun move and heard the shot at the exact same moment. He didn't even have time to react and then he was frozen with shock, the ghost of an expected impact making his whole body tremble. Only it wasn't he who slid to the ground...it was Danny.

Ray turned to find Gardino standing on top of a packing crate, still aiming at Danny. Gardino pulled his gun up and shared a brief 'holy shit' glance with Ray before he hopped down and said, "Vecchio, you plannin' to help with the clean up here, or are you just gonna stand around all day?"

 

*****

 

Later, outside, Fraser caught up with Ray as cars loaded down with thugs pulled away right and left. "Are you all right, Ray?" he asked, concern etched across his face.

"What? Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," Ray told him absently. In truth, he was still really rattled. Sure, nearly getting shot was enough to shake him up, but what really got to him was Danny. Running into an old friend like that, seeing him turned bad...that really threw him for a loop.

There were a few more things to wrap up with the crime scene guys, and a couple conversations with Deke and Myers over details of the bust, then Ray watched them wheel out Danny's body and load it into the van. Fraser stood right behind him, silent and patient. Then Ray turned and walked down the alley to where they'd left the Riv as the last of the squads left the scene.

The alley was eerie and quiet after so much activity. Ray leaned against the fender of the car, shivering and feeling mildly ill.

"Ray?" Fraser was hovering close, worried, protective. He put a hand on Ray's shoulder.

"I went to school with that guy, Benny. I grew up with him." Ray shook his head slowly, trying to sort it out. "We came from the same place, the same upbringing."

"I'm not entirely sure about that," Fraser offered. "You have a strong family." He moved closer, slipping his arm the rest of the way around Ray and pulling him into a loose embrace.

Ray's initial instinct was to resist, but then he realized that Fraser was warm and his body blocked the chilly wind that whistled relentlessly through the alley, and it felt good. Comforting, somehow. Ray could live with that. He relaxed and let Fraser do his thing.

"I could have ended up like that," Ray said after a moment. "What thin little line runs between me and guys like that? How did I escape that? You know...sometimes I'm not even sure I did."

Fraser's arms tightened around him. "Of course you escaped it."

Ray leaned into him, clinging to that idea. "I don't know. There's plenty of times I think that taking matters into my own hands would get my job done a whole lot faster and more effectively. How does that make me any different?"

"Trust me, Ray," Fraser told him, "You're a decent man. I'm a good judge of these things."

Fraser was shifting, jostling him slightly, and Ray didn't think too much of it until there was a warm hand along the side of his neck, and Fraser's thumb stroking his jaw...and then Fraser's mouth pressed softly against his own. He moved slow and Ray could feel the pressure of his arms. It took Ray a moment to realize that Fraser was kissing him. Honest to god kissing him, and he was getting more insistent about it, leaning in, pushing him against the fender.

When the full impact of the situation finally registered, a swift chill raced down Ray's spine and he shoved hard against Fraser, making him stumble back a few steps. "What the _hell_ are you doin', Fraser?!"

Fraser gaped at him for a second, stunned, and then stepped forward, opening his mouth to say something. Ray balled his hands into fists at his side and it was everything he could do to keep from decking Fraser right there. Things switched gears too fast and he couldn't make sense of it, falling back on instinct instead. He backed up around the front of the car, putting some space between them. "What made you _do_ that? Are you crazy?"

Fraser stood stock still, a completely enigmatic look on his face. He stayed that way a good long minute before he simply said, "I was mistaken."

There was a charged silence between them, and then Fraser turned slowly and walked away, breaking into a jog half way down the alley. And Ray let him, because what was he going to say right then? Ray climbed into the car and just sat there in the cold, angry and freaked out, and not at all sure what to think. He was still shaken from the bust, and as weird as it made him feel to admit it, he missed the solid comfort of leaning on Fraser. And he hated Fraser for fucking that up.

_Hate is a strong word, Ray, it isn't meant to be used lightly._ He could just about hear Fraser's inevitable response.

"Yeah, I know," he muttered quietly, and started up the car.

 

*****

 

The next five days passed in an uncomfortable blur. What little time Ray spent with Fraser while they wrapped up the details of the bust was filled with tense silence, sterile and polite exchanges of information and sidelong glances at each other. Beyond that, Fraser didn't come around...and Ray didn't go looking for him. He felt like an ass for that, but he still had no idea what to say to the man.

Ray wasn't getting a lot of sleep either. He'd been lying awake nights, still trying to sort it all out. Figure out what the hell to do about it. Part of him wished he could just forget the whole thing, but the other part of him... Well, he knew forgetting wasn't going to happen. Not when his head had been stuck in that moment for almost a week.

Ray groaned and rolled out of bed, scratching his chest and rubbing at the back of his neck. He felt like he'd been hit by a truck. "A big red _Canadian_ truck," he mumbled as he climbed into the shower.

He adjusted the water and gave himself a good once over with the soap and the shampoo, then turned to face the shaving mirror. "Stupid, _stupid_ mountie..." he told the reflection in the glass while he smeared lather over his face.

"Maybe," his counterpart said, "But what's it to you? One little kiss is such a big deal you can't just forget it?"

"It's the principle of the thing." Ray picked up his razor. "That's just..._there_ now and it's all I can think about when I see him."

"Because you liked it."

"No. I mean, I didn't mind the hug so much. I was pretty shook up after the bust, and it was nice. I am _human_ after all, humans like comfort."

Ray's reflection stared at him blandly. "Sure. That's why crime scenes across the city are just loaded with cops cuddling up to each other in group hugs. Then you all go back to the stations and sing Kum-bay-ah."

Ray flicked a glob of shaving cream against the tile. "I don't think about guys that way."

"Explain Tony Scametti."

"That doesn't count," Ray groused. "I was a teenager, my body was more hormones than water. Everybody thinks about it when they're teenagers. Besides, he was unnaturally good looking. I mean like..._beautiful_."

Fraser's face floated into his mind and Ray nicked himself. His reflection smirked and said, "I told you so. You're pissed because you liked it, and now you're thinkin' about him that way, and you don't know what to do about it."

"This is a mess," Ray said, defeated. Because he _had_ been thinking about it, no matter how much he tried not to, and when he remembered the feel of Fraser pressed up against him like that...he knew he did like it. And pissed as he was, he knew he probably would like it if it happened again.

Ray rinsed out the razor and then plunged his head under the spray of water, hoping it might clear his mind. That's when he realized he had a hard-on. "Hey! No fair ganging up me, you guys!"

 

*****

 

Ray spent the whole day wandering through his duties in a hard-thinking fog. Now he had two problems to work on. The first, that Fraser had kissed him and presumably meant it, well that one was still there. The second one...damn, that was news to Ray.

The late afternoon sun slanted down the street, glinting off cars and shop windows as Ray walked. A scrap of newspaper slid across the sidewalk in the faint breeze. It swirled around a few times and fell into the gutter. Pretty much like Ray's thoughts.

"Gay." Ray said it out loud just so that he could pin it place. It wasn't that he was so horrified by the concept - in theory. But he would have sworn on his grandmother's bible that it didn't apply to him. Ray Vecchio liked _women_, and that was the truth. That was something he'd always counted on.

He stopped and stared at his reflection in the dingy glass of an abandoned store front. The man that looked back at him was someone he wasn't sure he recognized. This was a man who liked _men_, and that was a whole other truth.

Ray spent the entire walk back to the station comparing these two versions of himself. Who was he really? Shouldn't he have known? The one comforting thing was that as the dust was settling in his mind after all these bombshells, he was beginning to realize that he pretty much still felt like Ray Vecchio, more or less. No holes had opened up and swallowed him into the earth, Pino's still made great pizza, and the girl at the service desk in the lobby still had a great ass. Come to think of it, so did the delivery guy leaning across it for her signature. Ray flashed them both his best smile and took the stairs two at a time.

He heard Fraser before he saw him, and just managed to duck into the storage closet before anyone noticed he'd returned. With the door cracked open just slightly, he was able to watch as Fraser rounded the corner with Elaine, explaining the proper way to prepare porridge without the use of a stove. Ray studied him with genuine interest now, no longer afraid of where that path led. The memory of Fraser's mouth on his came back to him, and now it was ok. More or less. Nothing bad happened. He could look at Fraser and think about kissing him and it was...good. And it also meant that he needed to go splash some cold water on his face before he could walk to his desk...

A few minutes later, standing in the bathroom and shaking water from his hands, Ray took one last look at himself in the mirror. He smirked at his reflection and said, "Really...who are we to deny all _this_ to half the available population? There's more than enough to go around."

 

*****

 

_{You don't like the sound of the truth, comin' from my mouth. You say that I lack the proof, well baby that might be so...}_

 

Four hours later, when he was knocking on Fraser's door, Ray still didn't know for sure what he was doing, but the idea of actually _doing_ something about it was far more appealing than going home and talking to himself in the microwave.

There was a muffled woof and the muted sound of Fraser's voice, which made Ray take a deep breath and start to reconsider his plan. Then the door opened, and Fraser was standing there looking non-plussed and a little bit wary, but maybe a little hopeful too.

He straightened up and blinked. "Ray..." He stepped back, though, and let the door swing open so Ray could go inside.

"Yeah, hi."

"Is there a problem?"

"Yeah. There is," Ray told him, walking into the kitchen. "I was an ass the other day and I shouldn't have treated you that way."

Fraser furrowed his brow and shut the door. "No...I was out of line. It wasn't fair of me."

"No. No, you weren't," Ray told him. "I mean, your timing was a little strange, but you just...you caught me off guard, that's all."

"I took a liberty and it was inappropriate." Fraser was playing with edge of one suspender and didn't seem to know what to do with his other hand, and Ray thought he looked adorable. Which was strange, but Ray couldn't deny that he liked what he saw. And now that he knew what he was up against, he started to think about more than just looking.

Ray took a step closer and leaned forward to steal a kiss. He'd barely touched Fraser's lips when Fraser leapt backwards, slamming into the door frame. He looked startled as all hell and reached up to touch his mouth. "What are you doing, Ray?"

Ray shrugged, perplexed. "I thought you wanted this...It was your idea, remember?"

"Yes, but _you_ don't want it," Fraser said. "You were pretty clear about that."

"Yeah, ok, I reacted badly. I know that," He reached out to touch Fraser's chest, but Fraser skittered out from between him and the door, backing away by the stove. "Fraser, come on...I was just surprised. I think I do want this, I just didn't know it yet."

"Ray, I appreciate the effort, but you don't need to force yourself to be something you're not."

Ray shook his head. "You don't understand, Fraser, I've been giving this a lot of thought. I want to try, at least. I mean..."

He tried reaching out for Fraser again, but Fraser backed away towards the open window. "You don't mean that, Ray. You're just saying that on my account, and while I really do appreciate that...it just wouldn't be right."

This wasn't turning out the way Ray had expected and he was getting frustrated. He had to make Fraser believe him. Reaching out and grabbing Fraser's shoulders, Ray trapped him against the window frame and kissed him firmly, leaning closer when Fraser started to struggle.

Finally, though, Fraser broke out of his grasp, and having no where else to go, he slithered backward out onto the fire escape. "I just don't think it's a good idea, Ray," he said, looking honestly pained. Then he leapt over the rail and dropped down into the alley below.

"Jesus, Fraser!" Ray yelled, completely undone now. "You jump out a window to get away from me?! How do you think that makes me feel, huh?"

Fraser turned to look up at him, raking a hand through his hair. Then he turned again and walked away without saying anything.

Ray's shoulders slumped. "That's real nice!" he hollered.

 

*****

_{...I might get to the end of my life, find out everyone was lyin'. I don't think that I'm afraid any more, say that I would rather die tryin'...}_

The next day, Ray hustled through his appointments and didn't bother fixing typos on the paperwork. At 3:28 he was finally able to close the files on his desk and get the hell out of there.

His first attempt at making good with Fraser hadn't gone all that well, he admitted that, but he supposed Fraser's reaction was only fair. After all, in the same shoes, he had nearly decked Fraser.

The answer was simple, of course. If Fraser didn't think he was serious...then he was just going to have to prove the mountie wrong. He ran down the steps at a fast clip and rounded the corner at a jog. Within minutes, he was in the car and headed for the first step of his new plan.

He pulled up right in front of the Consulate and shut off the engine. Getting out, Ray came around the front of the car feeling smug and full of anticipation. This was low, and he knew it, but he didn't care.

"Hello, Fraser," he said, stopping in front of the stone-still form of his friend. "Now that I can be assured of having you stay put until I've had my say, I can finish what I was trying to explain last night."

He started pacing back and forth. "Ok, here's the thing. I know I was a jerk when you made your move on me in the alley, and I'm sorry for that. I wasn't expecting it, and I was already kind of freaked out. But the thing you have to know is that I really am interested, I just had to get used to the idea, that's all. But, you gotta believe me, Fraser...I am _not_ just doing this to humor you. I wouldn't do that to you."

Ray stopped and looked Fraser in the eye. "I may not know exactly what I'm doin' here, but I _am_ serious about giving it a try."

Fraser actually made eye contact with him, and Ray took that as a good sign. He grinned and added, "Could be a lot of fun, even."

Just to set things heading in the right direction for a change, Ray circled around Fraser, making an obvious show of checking him out, head to toe. "Oh _yeah_..." he said, "You're quite the looker, you know, and I've seen you without a shirt on. Very nice. And I don't mind tellin' you that the past few days I've been thinking about doing more than just looking."

"In fact," he said, stopping next to Fraser and leaning close to speak softly in his ear, "I've been thinking about what you taste like. What it would feel like to run my tongue over your body, Fraser."

He was gratified to see a flush creeping over Fraser's neck and face. "Have you been thinking about that? Thinking about my tongue on you? Or yours on me....?"

Ray let that thought hang between them for a moment, then he straightened up and said, "Well anyway, Ma and Fran are in Florida, and everyone else is out of town for the weekend, so it's just me all alone in that big house tonight. I'm gonna fix a nice dinner and open a bottle of wine and put a little Sinatra on the radio, and if you're any kind of a friend at all, you won't let me eat alone."

Ray walked back to the car and pulled open the driver's side door. "Seven thirty."

 

*****

 

At seven fifteen, Ray was setting the little table in the kitchen after dicing the tomatoes and opening the wine. He checked his watch and then went upstairs to change his shirt. As he passed through the front hall, something out the window caught his eye. He crept over to peer past the curtain and was amused to see Fraser standing down at the end of the walk, hands folded in front of him and leaning against a tree. It only then occurred to him that there had ever been any possibility that Fraser might not come. He was relieved.

Since he still had time, and Fraser was clearly bent on waiting until the appointed hour, Ray continued on upstairs to finish getting dressed.

At 7:42, Ray tossed the tomatoes and garlic in the pan, and wondered what had become of Fraser. He poured a glass of wine and went back to the window in the hall. Fraser was right where he'd left him. That was strange because there was no way Fraser didn't know what time it was. And Fraser sure as hell didn't believe in being fashionably late. Ray furrowed his brow. Cold feet maybe?

He pulled the front door open and stepped out onto the porch, taking a sip of his wine. Fraser straightened up, but didn't move from his spot. They stood at opposite ends of the walk, regarding each other for a while.

Finally Ray moved to the edge of the step and said, "You gonna stand out there all night, or are you coming in?"

Fraser walked halfway up and stood at the edge of the porch light. He had on jeans and a red flannel shirt and his leather jacket. And the hat. Ray had to grin. This was unlike any date he had ever been on anywhere, any time.

"Good evening, Ray."

Ray took another sip of his wine and watched Fraser lick his lip. There was an interesting tension hanging in the air and it felt good. Not like the tension of the past week. This kind of tension held a promise of being relieved in a very good way. "Evening, Fraser."

"You look good." Fraser slid his hands into the tops of his jeans pockets. "I, ah...like that shirt."

"You like my shirt?" Ray chuckled, leaning against the post and crossing one ankle over the other. He swirled the wine in the glass. "Yeah, well...I like your shirt, too."

The barest hint of a grin started at the corners of Fraser's mouth.

Ray cocked his head. "Get your ass in here, will ya?"

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah. You?"

Fraser arched an eyebrow at him. "It was my idea, remember?"

"All right then." Ray turned and went in the house, holding the door open until Fraser finally came forward and trotted up the steps.

Ray shut the door and took Fraser's jacket and hat, handing him the wine. Fraser sipped it, considering it a bit and nodding his approval. This was the easy part, of course. They'd eaten meals together before, spent evenings together...right here in this very house. But that's usually where the fun ended.

Tonight though... Ray gave Fraser a once over and took a deep breath, rubbing his hands together and backing toward the kitchen. "You hungry, Benny? I made my famous Pasta Pomodoro."

"It smells wonderful," Fraser said with a smile. He followed Ray through the door and leaned against the counter while Ray stirred the sauce and turned on the flame under the large pot of water.

Ray poured a second glass of wine for himself and tipped the bottle toward Fraser. "You want more?"

Fraser held out his glass. "Thank you kindly."

Ray filled that too, and they clinked glasses and it was all very civil and very polite. And very wrong. It was all wrong. Ray winced and rubbed the back of his neck. "Jeez, this is all fucked up. This isn't what we're like. I mean, what the hell?"

Fraser studied the contents of his glass, running his finger along the rim. After a moment, he said, "Did you mean what you said earlier today?"

"Yeah." Ray's head snapped up and he put a hand out as if that could stop Fraser from getting the wrong impression. "I just mean all this polite, formal date stuff, Benny. I seriously meant it when I said I was interested and I wouldn't do this just to-"

"No, I mean what you said about your tongue." Fraser peered cautiously up out of the corner of his eye. He looked hopeful.

Ray stared at him, dumbfounded. "Ah...As a matter of fact, I have, indeed, given that some thought."

One corner of Fraser's mouth drew slowly up into a grin that Ray could only describe as wicked.

Ray pointed at him. "Hey, I never knew you could leer," he said.

Fraser licked his upper lip. "Yep."

"You got game to go with that look?"

The steady gaze Fraser fixed on him made Ray's body temperature kick up a notch. Without saying a word, Fraser set down the wine glass and pushed away from the counter, eyes locked on Ray. He closed the distance between them and slipped a hand up the side of Ray's neck. In a rough imitation of the first time in the alley, he kissed Ray and wrapped an arm around him to pull him close. This time, however, instead of anger or confusion, Ray felt hot and returned the kiss with relish.

Fraser moaned and then they were kissing for real. Necking right there in the middle of Ray's mother's kitchen, and Ray had to force that thought out of his head. It wasn't all that difficult when he was living out the reality of where his mind had been for the past couple of weeks, with or without his permission.

"Jeez, Fraser..." Ray broke away panting. "You have...the most amazing mouth, you know that?"

Fraser grinned at him quizzically, tipping his head slightly. He was breathing heavy, too.

"Yeah," Ray nodded, touching Fraser's lip with the tip of a finger. "That thing that you do with it, right there."

"_That's_ what makes it amazing?"

Ray shrugged. "Well there's the whole kissing thing, too, and I have some other ideas, but yeah...this thing here stands out." He reached over to the stove and turned off both burners. It was pretty obvious that dinner would be a little later than planned. And that was just fine.

Fraser leaned in and pressed his mouth to Ray's neck, panting against the skin. In three seconds, Ray was hard as a rock. He pushed Fraser against the counter and started working at the buttons of the red flannel shirt. Fraser looked down at Ray's hands. "Is this the part with your tongue?"

"Oh, _yeah_..." Ray said with a broad grin, shoving the edges of the shirt over Fraser's shoulders. Fraser's skin was warm and soft and Ray got lost just running his hands over it. When he bent forward to lick a path along a curve of collarbone, Fraser groaned and slapped his hands behind him on the counter to brace himself. One of the wine glasses got knocked over, and red wine ran to the edge and dripped over.

"Oh dear," Fraser frowned, and started to reach for the overturned glass.

"Hey, leave that," muttered Ray, still trying to get a decent taste of skin.

Fraser shifted his weight nervously. "But, Ray...it's getting all over the floor..."

He tried to take a step sideways to grab a dish towel, so Ray popped open the button of Fraser's jeans.

"Yes, all right," Fraser said, settling back in place. His fingers curled around the edge of the counter with a death grip.

Ray smirked. "Thought you'd see it my way."

He spent a good solid ten minutes just getting used to the feel of a man, sliding his hands over the flat planes of Fraser's chest and following with his mouth or tongue. Fraser stood patiently, moaning softly and breathing hard, letting Ray do as he pleased.

Finally, Ray straightened up and kissed Fraser firmly. Then he reached down and grabbed hold of the fly of Fraser's jeans, unzipping it slowly. Fraser stared at him with a kind of open-mouthed anticipation that made Ray weak in the knees.

"I can't believe I'm doin' this," Ray said as he slid a hand down the front of Fraser's pants. The length of Fraser's erection was hot and hard, and it felt smooth through the thin cloth of Fraser's shorts. Ray was fascinated and withdrew his hand so he could move the boxers and get at it naked.

"_Oh yes_..." Fraser breathed, exhaling a long measured breath as if he were struggling to maintain control. Ray decided that he wanted to see him lose that struggle right then and there.

Watching Fraser's face intently, Ray curled his hand around Fraser's cock and started to stroke it ever so slowly, using a firm and steady grip. He figured if he liked that, Fraser would too, and if Fraser's reaction was any indication...he did. Fraser's eyes were closed and his cheeks were flushed. His lips were parted and Ray could see him pressing his tongue against the edges of his teeth.

"Oh, _Ray_..." he moaned. He clutched at the counter and rocked his hips, urging Ray to go faster.

Ray wasted no time obliging him, and he pressed closer so that he could caress Fraser's back and shoulder with his free hand. "_Yeah_, Benny...that's it," he murmured.

The way Fraser was panting and biting at his lip made Ray hotter than hell, and Fraser's desperate little moans drove him wild. This was better than any fantasy he'd managed to conjure up. He couldn't help but rub himself up against Fraser's hip, and when he did, Fraser cried out and came hard, sagging against the counter, one foot planted to brace himself.

Fraser took a few moments to recover, swallowing hard, and then opened his eyes and looked at Ray in kind of a dreamy haze. He grinned. "It seems that your hands are every bit as talented as your tongue."

"Yeah?"

Fraser nodded and licked the corner of his mouth. His gaze was significantly more focused now and Ray had about half a second to consider that before Fraser was on him, kissing him hard and peeling off his shirt with more speed than finesse. When he made as if he was going to fold it, Ray snatched it out of his hand and flung it across the room. Hands free, Fraser grabbed him and pulled him into a tight embrace.

Being skin to skin, with Fraser's strong hands touching him everywhere lit Ray's cock on fire and he groaned out loud, thrusting against Fraser's body with undisguised need.

"Holy shit, Fraser," he panted between wet kisses, "How did I not _know_ this before?"

"Force of habit?" Fraser offered.

"Force of _habit?_" Ray scoffed. "That's the best you got? Where's the Inuit tales? The pithy sayings? Grandma's wisdom...?" He flashed Fraser a cocky grin. "I guess good sex clouds even your mind."

Fraser licked his lip. "Would you like me to go home and get my thesaurus?"

"Hell, _no_." Ray caught Fraser in another kiss, and they were necking again, bodies glued together and hands stroking or gasping anything within reach.

Then Fraser started to break free, pulling away. Ray frowned and opened his mouth to protest when Fraser slid neatly to his knees right there on the kitchen floor. "Oh wow...are you _serious?_"

"Yes, Ray." And then there was that seductive grin from that amazing mouth. Ray watched, transfixed, as Fraser's long fingers undid the buttons of his trousers and pushed them out of the way. Fraser leaned forward and pressed his mouth to Ray's stomach just above the waistband of his shorts. A kiss that ended in a lick. Ray's cock strained forward. "Oh my god," he whispered.

Fraser pulled his shorts out of the way, letting Ray's cock spring free. "You like my mouth..." he said. Not really a statement, not really a question.

"Yeah, I like your mouth," Ray said, getting breathless as Fraser reached up to trail his fingers up the side of Ray's cock. Then Fraser leaned forward to do the same with the tip of his tongue.

"Oh my GOD," Ray moaned. His legs suddenly felt like they might not hold him up, and he reached out to brace his hands on the edge of the counter. He was leaning over Fraser and looked down just in time to see him open his mouth and slide down over the head of Ray's cock. "Oh my _GOD_..."

It was fast and desperate, Fraser scrabbling on his knees on the floor and Ray hanging on for dear life. He couldn't quite believe how good it felt, or how much he liked it when Fraser yanked down his pants to fondle his ass, or grasped his hip for leverage. Ray wanted to reach down and touch Fraser's hair, his face, but he was afraid that he would lose control and thrust too hard into his mouth.

Within just a few minutes, Ray was trembling and his breath was hard and fast. "Shit, Benny...I'm gonna..." he moaned, trying to warn Fraser, but then he _was_ coming and it was so damn good, and Fraser was right there with him until the end.

Fraser sat back and wiped his mouth with the side of his hand before he looked up at Ray with that dazed expression again. Ray sunk down to sit on the floor with him and found himself in Fraser's arms, with Fraser's mouth on his, much in the way this all started. They sat there half naked and kissing, less urgent than before, taking their time about it and savoring the experience.

Finally, Ray said, "I was right. You do have an amazing mouth."

Fraser smiled and kissed him again. "Are you going to cook me that dinner now?"

"Comin' right up," Ray told him. "You wanna refill the wine glasses?"

"Certainly, Ray."

They got up and fastened their pants. Ray turned on the heat under the pans and gave the tomatoes and garlic a stir. Fraser wiped up the mess on the counter and poured them each a glass of wine. Neither one bothered with a shirt, and somehow Ray found that he really really liked that.

Fraser came over and handed him a glass of wine, standing close enough for his chest to brush against Ray's shoulder. "Ray...I know I didn't approach things in the best manner that day, and I'm sorry that I put you on the spot like that. But you were nearly killed and all I could think was how narrowly I'd almost missed my chance."

"No, Benny, I'm glad you did," Ray told him. "I don't think I ever would have had a clue if you hadn't."

"I'm not so certain about that," Fraser told him, "But I'm glad we're not wasting any more time."

"Me too, Benny, me too."

END


End file.
